Thus saith the Lord

Self-examination in preachers was a trademark of New England Puritan preaching. “Before calling the congregation to account to God for their lives, thoughts and feelings, the minister first had to submit his own life to a withering, divine scrutiny. Only then could he project that message outward and say to his congregation with the proper combination of humility and finality, “Thus saith the Lord.”‘

source: Harry Stout